HSBC Rugby Festival Dubai to kick off

Over 2,800 junior rugby players from clubs from around the Middle East and Europe will descend on the venue for the HSBC-sponsored grassroots rugby festival.

The HSBC Rugby Festival Dubai is part of the HSBC Youth Rugby Series - a series of four HSBC-sponsored junior rugby festivals that visit Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Bahrain and Doha over the 2012/13 rugby season.

Under 8, Under 10, Under 12 and Under 14 age category teams participating in Dubai are automatically eligible to earn points towards an end of season grand prize - a VIP training session with an HSBC Rugby Ambassador, plus a new set of rugby kit for the whole team.

2013 marks the fourth year HSBC has been a title sponsor of the junior festival, and an event which sits at the heart of the bank's commitment to supporting the growth of rugby across the Middle East. Marcus Hurry, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at HSBC UAE, said: "It's wonderful to see the HSBC Youth Rugby Series grow and grow - this is what grassroots rugby is all about - building a long term flow of young players into this mighty game, encouraging and developing the skills and sporting talents of young people.
We are delighted that we will be able to reward the most consistent teams with personalised training sessions with one of our HSBC Rugby Ambassadors, an icon and role model of rugby values. In sum HSBC is delighted to be able to support the region's largest rugby festival and on behalf of all my colleagues at HSBC in the UAE I wish all participants, their coaches, their parents, the referees and support teams a successful and enjoyable weekend of competitive rugby."

Across the series, HSBC will bring rugby fun for friends and family in the form of the HSBC Skills Zone - the ultimate rugby time trial testing the speed and agility of rugby players, and HSBC customers will be rewarded with free giveaways. The bank has also launched a new charity initiative, 'Kit for Kids', which sees the bank encourage employees, parents and children to donate unwanted rugby kit in an effort to make a positive impact on the lives of underprivileged children across the region.

Across the Middle East, HSBC has invested in a year-long programme of grassroots rugby partnerships, including the UAE Rugby Federation's Pathway Programme, an in-schools initiative to introduce rugby to hundreds of Emirati students across the UAE. In

2013, the bank has produced the first-ever rugby coaching manual entirely in Arabic, and will present schools with a starter kit containing balls, bibs and boundary cones to encourage interest in the sport.

The next HSBC Youth Rugby Festival will be in Doha on Friday, 22 March.